Ch.23Online Disciple Song Hayeon (2)

Rustle.

Crackle.

In the middle of a mountain path, not particularly secluded, but where not a single person was passing by.

Looking at the tree branches swaying in the wind, Song Hayeon wondered absently.

‘Why did they ask me to come to a place like this?’

Normally, meeting places would be ordinary cafes or restaurants, wouldn’t they?

But this place was far from that kind of atmosphere no matter how you looked at it.

After pondering briefly, Song Hayeon was finally able to draw a plausible conclusion.

‘Ah, maybe they don’t want to be noticed by people?’

If that was the reason, it certainly wasn’t strange.

And that meant that HellLord12 might possibly be a celebrity known to most people.

‘Ugh, I’m so nervous.’

In truth, it was more curiosity and anticipation than nervousness, but either way, her heart was racing all the same.

Just as Song Hayeon was barely managing to calm her pounding heart, she sensed a faint presence from the other side of the forest path.

Rustle.

“Ah!”

She quickly turned her head toward the sound, but there was nothing there.

“Huh?”

By now, Song Hayeon’s perception, rated as B-rank, was far beyond that of an ordinary person, so it couldn’t have been a simple mistake.

With this in mind, she carefully examined the surroundings and discovered a place that seemed somewhat off.

Swish.

Behind a large tree at the edge of the mountain path, something like silver threads was fluttering.

‘That’s…’

Enhancing her vision with mana, her sight became clearer. It was definitely human hair.

“Um, who’s there?”

No answer came.

‘What is this?’

By this point, Song Hayeon began to find the unidentified presence suspicious.

Silver hair—certainly not a common color for modern people.

‘Could it be…’

Given how they were hiding and refusing to respond, as unlikely as it seemed, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that it might be a monster leaked from an unidentified dungeon break.

Song Hayeon tensed up, drawing on her mana as she quickly approached from an angle where she could identify what it was.

Tap tap tap!

“Who on earth—huh?”

What was hiding behind the tree was a pure white girl with a completely unexpected appearance.

Silvery hair with a yellowish tint, light red eyes, and a petite frame.

If Helena, whom she had seen before, had the image of a noble princess, this girl exuded an atmosphere like a fairy from a fairy tale.

Seeing Song Hayeon approach so quickly, the girl seemed a bit frightened, averting her gaze and shrinking her body.

“Ah, um. Well…”

The words the girl finally uttered were in familiar Korean.

Given her appearance, which didn’t look Korean at all, it was quite unexpected. Taken aback, Song Hayeon quickly apologized for her earlier behavior.

“Sorry! Did I scare you? I thought you might be someone suspicious.”

“No, that’s…”

“Where are you from? America? France?”

Judging by her appearance alone, she didn’t seem that young, but there was something about her unique aura that somehow evoked a protective instinct.

In response to Song Hayeon’s barrage of questions, the girl made a somewhat displeased expression and held up her smartphone.

[I’ll be there soon.]

[I’m here! Where are you?]

[Teacher?]

Those were the messages Song Hayeon had just sent to HellLord12.

As she stared intently at the girl, Song Hayeon fell into a moment of cognitive dissonance.

‘Uh…’

The fact that she had her teacher’s smartphone meant that, at the very least, the girl was someone related to them.

Song Hayeon, guessing the situation, clapped her hands together.

Clap!

“Ah! Are you perhaps my teacher’s child running an errand?”

Shake shake.

“Then, are you an acquaintance?”

Shake shake.

Confused by these consecutive denials, Song Hayeon suddenly recalled what she had heard from Helena last time and smiled brightly, as if she had finally found the correct answer.

“You’re a summon! I heard that top-tier necromancers can create undead almost indistinguishable from real humans, wow… This is my first time seeing one.”

But even that wasn’t the right answer.

The girl looked at the dumbfounded Song Hayeon and answered in a small voice.

“Y-you don’t even recognize your teacher…”

“What?”

That was the first meeting between Song Hayeon and HellLord12, Baek Eunha.

#

To be honest, I had expected this to some extent.

‘…’

From the beginning, an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to calmly broadcast to an audience of over five thousand viewers.

‘…This is uncomfortable.’

In short, Song Hayeon wasn’t just popular—she was ultra-popular.

I could feel her unique aura just by looking at her from a distance. That’s why I couldn’t get any closer.

‘This is a real party person…’

Positive energy naturally flowed from her even when she was just standing still. For me right now, that was quite fatal.

My body instinctively refused to approach.

As if there were a law of nature that popular and unpopular people shouldn’t be in the same space, my feet were almost stepping backward on their own.

“Sh-should I bow to you?”

At first, Song Hayeon was half-skeptical of my words, but after I demonstrated some of the necromancy I had taught her, she finally accepted the truth.

“…Follow me.”

“Ah, yes.”

There was still some gain, though.

Perhaps because we had built a relationship over quite some time, I was barely able to speak casually to Song Hayeon as usual.

Maybe this meant that these wretched side effects were gradually improving.

“Um, where are we going?”

“…My home.”

“I see…”

On the way home, I tried to settle my upset stomach while explaining various precautions to Song Hayeon.

Roughly speaking, from now on, we were supposed to be friends who had gotten close through an online game.

“Ah. Yes. We’re game friends, right?”

And now only the final hurdle remained.

Taking Song Hayeon home to be verified by Seoha.

After all, it wouldn’t be easy to trust someone who claimed they wanted to run dungeons with a B-rank hunter they met through a game.

Ding dong.

Click.

When we arrived home and I opened the door, bringing the two face to face, their eyes met.

“Oh.”

“Ah.”

Both of them simultaneously let out small exclamations and began making strange expressions.

“…”

What’s wrong with them?

I tilted my head at their unexpected reactions, but at that moment, as if they had rehearsed it, both of their gazes pierced me simultaneously.

“…Ugh. What?”

With expressions that seemed to ask why I hadn’t told them beforehand, Song Hayeon was the first to speak.

“Y-you’re family with Baek Seoha?”

“I, didn’t I mention that…?”

“No, you didn’t! Oh, what should I do.”

Song Hayeon cried out with eyes mixed with surprise and fear.

Thinking carefully, I seemed to recall her mentioning in a previous conversation that she had been a fan of Seoha.

I turned my head away from her reproachful gaze, but suddenly feeling wronged, I looked at the owner of the other gaze.

“Th-then why are you…?”

“…Your game friend was Song Hayeon? Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

Apparently, Seoha also knew Song Hayeon. The reason became clear from what she said next.

“She’s the hottest talent in the industry these days. Our side was also in a frenzy trying to recruit her. I definitely told you, no, told unnie about it the day before yesterday…”

Seoha trailed off, sounding a bit hurt.

The day before yesterday was probably when I had stayed up all night gaming, so there was a high chance I had heard it with one ear and let it out the other.

“S-sorry.”

From what I was hearing, it seemed Song Hayeon was a talent that Seoha’s Blue-White Guild had been keeping an eye on.

Having shown such a defenseless side of herself in front of someone like that, it was understandable that she would be flustered.

“…”

The situation seemed to be taking an awkward turn.

I fidgeted with my hands, avoiding the gazes of both of them.

And so, we ended up having an unexpected three-way meeting as we entered the house.

#

“So, you became close while playing games together?”

“Yes. She was so skilled that I asked questions and received guidance… That’s how it was, right?”

As the conversation progressed somewhat, Song Hayeon slightly turned her head toward me, signaling to ask if this was the right approach.

I nodded my head vigorously in response.

“What a coincidence.”

“Y-yeah. Haha.”

It didn’t take long for the awkwardness to dissipate. Basically, they were both high-rank hunters, and they had plenty of common interests.

And so, the real conversation began.

“So, how far can you go alone?”

“Pardon?”

“The strongest monster you can defeat one-on-one.”

The atmosphere was already like that of a job interview at a major guild. Song Hayeon struggled to answer Seoha’s sharp questions.

“W-well, if it’s a B4-rank Poison Horn…”

“That’s a bit lacking.”

“I-if I push myself, I should be fine against a Crystal Wolf, one rank higher.”

Seoha’s questioning was diverse and persistent. Seeing how she was trying to verify not just combat skills but also theoretical aspects, I felt sorry for Song Hayeon.

But at some point, the content started to become a bit strange.

“So, when a conflict arises like that, what should you do?”

“Block the line of sight, step forward to draw attention… and what was it again?”

“Whatever happens, you must never let her participate in the conversation by leading the situation. Unnie will shrink up and be unable to say anything if you just snap at her a little.”

“I see…”

I became uncomfortable with the conversation that seemed to be targeting me. But when you’re the one in need, you have no choice but to endure.

“When she twitches around her eyes and makes a subtle expression, it means she has some complaint or something she wants to say. At those times, step forward and resolve it for her.”

“Ah, yes.”

“If there’s something difficult to resolve, feel free to use the guild’s name or mine.”

“Really?”

After a long time, the conversation concluded, and Seoha finally agreed to our two-person party.

I felt drained just from listening.

“Um, before I go, could I get your phone number…”

“Of course.”

“Thank you!”

Ding dong.

Click.

Soon after, the front door opened, and Song Hayeon left with a smile full of happiness.

‘But she’s my disciple…’

Somehow, I had the peculiar feeling that my disciple had been stolen from me.